Past/Present/Future Rookie Pick Value: 2025 Mid 3rd

It’s almost that time of year again: rookie drafts are on the horizon. Rebuilders are full of glee as they hoard their picks, while contenders are scheming how they can pry some of those picks away, and dynasty players everywhere are chomping at the bit to draft their favorite prospect.

In this series, the Dynasty League Football team will be taking a look at four-pick sections of a dynasty rookie draft to give a comprehensive view of those selections by analyzing the consensus from the past, the potential options for this year, and what the picks are worth on the trade market. For this series, we’ll be focusing on superflex formats.

Historical Consensus Picks 5-8

2024

• 3.05 – Brenden Rice, WR LAC
• 3.06 – Will Shipley, RB PHI
• 3.07 – Ray Davis, RB BUF
• 3.08 – Jaylen Wright, RB MIA

2023

• 3.05 – Tank Dell, WR HOU
• 3.06 – Darnell Washington, TE PIT
• 3.07 – Deuce Vaughn, RB DAL
• 3.08 – Cedric Tillman, WR CLE

2022

• 3.05 – Zamir White, RB LVR
• 3.06 – Dameon Pierce, RB HOU
• 3.07 – Sam Howell, QB SEA (Drafted by WAS)
• 3.08 – Isaiah Likely, TE BAL

Players in this range of draft value tend to be very hit-or-miss. Tank Dell is the most impressive of this group, but he was a bit of a unicorn coming out of the NFL Draft. Nobody like him had ever really succeeded at the NFL level, but it took a unique skill set and bond with CJ Stroud for him to break out into a high-end dynast asset. Unfortunately, Dell’s injury has caused a major hindrance in his development.

Some of the other players on this list have flashed at times, and still have a chance to be valuable dynasty assets in the future. Isaiah Likely has been incredible whenever he’s been given the chance by Baltimore, but he’s always played second fiddle to Mark Andrews when he’s been healthy. Ray Davis and Will Shipley showed some upside, but they’re stuck behind two great running backs, holding them back from any dynasty value. Basically, you need to get lucky to hit on one of these mid-third-round picks, but it isn’t impossible.

2025 Potential Options

• Ollie Gordon, RB Oklahoma State
• Cam Skattebo, RB Arizona State
• Mason Taylor, TE LSU
• RJ Harvey, RB UCF
• Jalen Milroe, QB Alabama
• Tahj Brooks, RB Texas Tech
• Tai Felton, WR Maryland
• Quinn Ewers, QB Texas
• Jaxson Dart, QB Mississippi
• Jordan James, RB Oregon

This range of players really highlights the strength of this class, running back and tight end. Even this far into the third round, there are viable options at running back and tight end who could shoot up the draft board depending on their draft capital and landing spot. Skattebo made a name for himself during the College Football Playoffs, and he could be a popular pick wherever he ends up. Brooks and Harvey are two other players to keep a close eye on.

Meanwhile, Tai Felton is the only wide receiver that currently lands in this range according to the DLF Rankings. Felton is an exciting player, but he needs to bulk up to win at the professional level. He was incredibly productive in College Park last season, earning First-Team All-Big 10 Honors.

The quarterbacks above could be very interesting, especially Jaxson Dart. Dart and Jalen Milroe are currently the third and fourth quarterbacks in the rankings, falling all the way down to the middle of the third round. I believe Dart will be drafted earlier than most of the mocks are expecting, which should push him into the second rounds of one quarterback drafts. If he does end up going in the third, he could be a really nice value.

Trade Value

Knowing which prospects are worthy of being selected with these dynasty rookie picks is only half of the battle. It’s also important to know what these picks are worth on the trade market. This will help you to find worthwhile trades if you’re not as interested in the prospects available when you’re up to pick or don’t want to pay the price to trade up for a pick to get a prospect you really like. Using the Dynasty League Football Trade Analyzer, here are some potential options each pick could be traded for right now.

3.05 (63.5 Trade Value)

• Marvin Mims, WR DEN
• Christian Kirk, WR JAX
• Dak Prescott, QB DAL

3.06 (59.9 Trade Value)

• Dontayvion Wicks, WR GB
• Jauan Jennings, WR SF
• Jake Ferguson, TE DAL

3.07 (56.4 Trade Value)

• Tua Tagovailoa, QB MIA
• Jonnu Smith, TE MIA
• Jaylen Wright, RB MIA

3.08 (52.9 Trade Value)

• Kendre Miller, RB NO
• Pat Freiermuth, TE PIT
• DeAndre Hopkins, WR KC

Generally, I’ll happily take the veteran players in a one-for-one trade over the sexiness of the unknowns in the rookie draft at this range. For example, you could take Tai Felton with one of these picks, or you could trade it away for known assets like Jauan Jennings, Dontayvion Wicks, Marvin Mims or Christian Kirk. It’s a boring approach, but you’re more likely to find an RB or WR two in this range via the trade market than by actually using the pick.

If you are not in a win-now (or win-soon) mode, and you still want to trade these picks, there are some options for you to target. Kendre Miller and Jaylen Wright should both see more usage this season than they’ve seen so far in their careers.

Dynasty Recommendations

Typically, with this pick, I like to target wide receivers who have a path to fantasy football success. Players like Tank Dell would’ve been someone I would’ve had my eye on in this range. Tai Felton has a chance to fall into this category if he tests well and lands on the right team. Jack Bech is another player ranked lower right now who would be on my radar at this spot.

If a wide receiver doesn’t fit what I’m looking for, and there isn’t a glaring value at the other positions, usually I’d like to trade this pick. Third-round picks carry a significant amount more value than fourth-round picks, while the players available are in about the same range. You can get much better veteran players for a third-round pick than you can for a fourth, so be sure to test the waters and see what you can get for this pick.

Jauan Jennings stands out to me as a player who should be targeted for a third-round pick. He was incredible for the 49ers last season, taking advantage of the litany of injuries on San Francisco’s offense. With Deebo Samuel trade rumors raging, it’s possible that Jennings has a wide-open path to repeating last season’s breakout. So, float your mid-third-round picks out to the league on the trade block and see who bites. If you don’t find a trade partner, target rookies who had surprising draft capital or a clear path to success as a rookie.